Car Not Used Too Often...

[tangoll]

I am in Bangkok about 7 - 10 days each month, have my own condo which is about 500 meters from Phrom Phong BTS station. I don't have a car in Bangkok and just use the BTS and taxis now and then, and to tell the truth, I'm getting tired of walking to and from the BTS to condo, and when taking a taxi, having to ask the taxi driver if he wants to take me where I want to go before getting in. I just hate doing that, or having to negotiate a fare from the airport to the condo.

I'm thinking of getting a car and have it available for use when I'm in Bangkok. Is anyone here in somewhat the same situation, and if so, what problems have you encountered from not using the car for 3 weeks or so at a stretch? Battery always going dead, breakage, hassles in getting the car registered in your name? I come on visa exempt status and don't have a work permit or anything like that. I would only be driving on an international license issued from Hong Kong. Any difficulty in getting insurance? I'm 68 years old, and have my condo insurance with Bangkok Insurance Co., so they know me well. Traffic in Bangkok won't bother me all that much, because time is the one thing I have plenty of, and I'm usually not pressed to be at any one place at any specific time.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[Jareddiving]

Just buy a nice Bmw 5 or 7 series..

When you are away drop it off at my place and i'll take really good care of it.

[torrenova]

I am not your age but also grew tire of reliance on public transport. I also would put up with traffic jams. If cost is no problem, then why not.

If your car is not off road, secured or whatever, it is a high risk. That would be my main worry.

My secondary worry would be that if you only come back or a couple of days one month but don't drive the car, then it could go 2 months or more with no-one driving it. I think a couple of weeks is no issue for a garaged modern car but not months.

As for your license, you can get a Thai one without taking the test, just some reaction tests and a multiple choice test.

[chivo]

based on your questions, i wouldn't do it unless you spent much of your time here driving to destinations outside BKK.

it seems you are frustrated with the in and outs of taxis... but i'm willing to bet that once you get the car there will be MORE nuisances than there are just taking taxis... like driving in heavy traffic, trying to find parking, the hassle if there is an accident, regularly schedules maintanence for the car, insurance, police tea money for driving infractions, etc...

when what you really suffer now is a little banter with a taxi driver... if u dont speak thai, learn it, it helps massively with taxi drivers.

you also say you're tired of negotiating from airport to condo. so how would the car solve that? unless you left it at the airport to wait for you?

if you like to spend your time here driving to kanchanaburi or khao yai and other places- often- then it may be worth the convenience. but as of now i really think the inconveniences of owning a car will be more than your minor troubles here.

bangkok just isnt a car city like some others are.

[samgrowth]

Just rent when needed.

Or buy a 15 years car for say 100,000 Baht and try it out for a few months. Get a Japs Toyota, Honda or Nissan, where parts are easily available.

[tangoll]

Thanks for all the comments here. Yes, I think the hassle of owning and driving a car in BKK isn't worth the convenience of the few times that I will use the car. I will investigate renting a car for the one week a month that I'm there and see how it goes.

I have parking at the condo where I live, so that's not a problem, and I know the roads in BKK reasonable well.

I do speak enough Thai to be able to tell the taxi drivers where exactly I need to go, but it's just annoying that you have to ask the taxi driver if they want to take you. In Hong Kong, you can report to the police about any taxi driver that refuses a fare, and the driver will get investigated and if found guilty, fined.

[richard_smith237]

Another option worth considering could be Car & Driver hire...... I'm guessing that an internet search will turn up a few companies who given a days notice will pick you up at the airport and assign a car and driver for you for your duration of stay...

I too am not here all the time and have a car for the instant freedom it gives me without the hassles of taxis or the heat of the BTS. Parking can be a headache and the traffic issue is well known... But I like to sit in my car, with my music, with the air-con at my levels and drive to my safety levels. The police are never or very rarely a hassle, I would have speeding fines in the UK if I was driving there.... Driving here is relatively easy, it just takes a little assertiveness but no sudden movements (change of lane etc)...

Sometimes my car is not used for 4 weeks or so, I've never had any problems. It's kept in the car park underneath my condo. I drive on a UK international license which I renew every year. I've had no difficulties purchasing the car or insurance in my own name.

[patklang]

I would get a taxi that you can trust and have his mobile number and pay him a set fee to take you about,so no hassle with somebody trying to stitch you up.

[Gary A]

If I lived 500 meters from the sky train station, NO way would I put up with the aggravation of having a car. I can't count the number of times I got out of a taxi early because of traffic jams and walked the rest of the way. I lived and worked just outside of Bangkok and always hated having to go into the city. I needed the car to get to work.

[MaiChai]

The other big issue with driving in Bangkok is that if you have an accident, you will have alot of hassel. Also driving around Bangkok you will spend alot of time stuck in traffic. Personally I have a pickup which I just use for trips out of Bangkok and the supermarket run. Otherwise I just taxi or use my motorbike round Bangkok. If the taxi driver has an accident, you can just pay the bill and get another one! It just much easier to let someone take all the risks. An auto scooter (can we call them that?) is ideal for getting around and beating the traffic, although you have to have your witts about you.

How about motorbike taxi too and from the BTS?

[tangoll]

Right after moving into my condo, I went out and saw all these motosai taxis right by the curb, so I asked them, "Bai BTS tao rai? (Go to BTS, how much). One of the guys says, "20 baht". So off we go, and since then, each time I've used the motosai taxi, I paid 20 baht.

But then, I started to notice that when the local guys and girls got off the motosai bikes at the BTS, and they paid with a 20 baht note, they got back change, a 10 baht coin.

So I just stopped using the motosai taxis and just walked the 500 meters to the BTS, no matter the weather or if I had to rush or what not.

All in all, I think the solution is just to find a decent car rental agency and rent a car for the 7 days or so that I am in Bangkok. I'll try that later this month when I am there.

Can anyone recommend a reliable agency with economical rates and decent cars -- just a simple get-around car would be sufficient, even manual transmission if the price is good. I don't need a fancy car, just air conditioning, starts, moves and stops.

[chivo]

having read this i think the best is you pick up a rental at the airport, use while here, and leave it at the airport when you go.

[tangoll]

Chivo, thanks for the suggestion, but I don't fancy driving from Suwanna to Sukhumvit/Rama 4 in the middle of the night, which is when my flight from Hong Kong usually arrives to BKK. I think I'll just stick with taxis to/from airport for the time being until the new rail operates from near Phayathai BTS.